I don't think it's perfect, but I like where you're going. I think if you keep at that, it will come a bit more naturally. I just mentioned channel mixer because it handles somewhat extreme color changes well. I've used it for many things like changing colors of dresses and K only cmyk drop shadows. I just like that it has the ability to make significant changes while preserving detail as long as you know how to balance the values out correctly. It does require very careful masking compared to something like selective color. Selective color is targeting a specific color range, so it offers some secondary protection against fringing issues.

The initial photographer whose style you wished to emulate has a lot of highlighting work done in post to help balance out the darker areas, but I think over time you'll go in your own direction with these. I like the way you're blocking it out rather than trying to tackle everything simultaneously.